India is expected to initiate flight trials for its long-awaited Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV programme within the next six months, marking a major stride toward enhancing indigenous unmanned aerial capabilities.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and participating private sector manufacturers are finalising pre-trial evaluations to achieve deployment-readiness in record time, aligning with the Ministry of Defence’s push for accelerated defence inductions under the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

According to procurement sources, the tender for 87 MALE-class UAVs will see a division of orders between the two lowest bidders, with 64 percent awarded to the L1 bidder and the remaining 36 percent to L2, ensuring balanced industrial participation.

This split model aims to stimulate competition while maintaining delivery efficiency, mirroring India’s recent approach in large-scale defence production contracts.

The MALE UAVs under evaluation are likely to feature advanced Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) payloads, satellite communication links, and endurance exceeding 24 hours, suitable for persistent operations across varied terrains and climatic conditions.

The initiative aligns with India’s broader strategy to reduce reliance on imported UAVs and expand domestic production capability across strategic sectors.

The forthcoming trials are expected to assess platform stability, endurance, mission automation, and payload integration. Defence analysts observe that once trials conclude successfully, production contracts could be finalised by late 2026, setting the stage for large-scale induction into the tri-services by 2027.

IDN (With Agency Inputs)